Extension car-step.



No. 830,867. 7 v PATENTED SEPT.11, 1906. WATSON. EXTENSION GAR STEP.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 29, 1905.

II Illlllllllliiilll a o 7 o 135 L0 lNVENTOH A TTOHNEYS BENJAMIN \VATSON, OF EDEN, NEW YORK.

EXTENSION CAR-STEP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 11, 1906.

L)plicatin filed December 29, 1906. Serial No. 293,747.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN l/VATsoN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Eden, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Extension Car-Step, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a very simple, durable, and effective extension attachment for the fixed steps of carplatforms, which attachment is capable of ready and economic application to the fixed steps of any car or like vehicle.

A further purpose of the invention is to so construct the attachment that the extensionstep can be quickly brought to its lower posi- .tion as an extension from the main steps by a single movement of the foot of a trainman on the platform and whereby the extension step will be automatically carried to its upper or storage position as soon as unlocked from its lower position.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination 'of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompany= ing drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a car-platform and its steps, illustrating the application of the extension-step and showing the same in two positions. Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken practically on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken at right angles 'to the sections shown in Fig. 2 and practically on the line 3 3 of 2.

A represents a portion of the body of a car, B a platform for the same, and C the customary fixed steps carried by the platform. Metal guide devices 10 are secured to the outer faces of the side pieces of the stepsC, and the side members 11 of an essentially U- shaped carrier D are held to slide freely in the said guide devices, while the connecting member 12 of the carrier extends beneath the lower fixed step 13. The side members 11 of the carrier are given an inclination corresponding to that of the fixed step C; but the connecting member 12 is flat and is secured in any approved manner longitudinally of and to the under face of an extension-step 14 upon the uppermost guide devices 10. An

arm 16, having the same inclination as the fixed step C, is attached to or is integral with the central portion of the connecting member 12 of the carrier, and this arm 16 extends upward at the rear of the fixed steps C, as is best shown in Fig. 2, and may also extend to the forward endof the extension-step 14, as is illustrated 17 in Figs. 1 and 2, if desired. The arm 16 has upward and downward movement to raise the lower or extension step 14 and in such movement engages with friction-rollers 18, journaled in bearings 19, secured to the back of the fixed steps C, sundry of which rollers engage with the front and others with the rear face of the arm, as is shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

A bracket member is provided for the upper end of the arm 16, extending horizontally outward, as is shown in Fig. 3, and the outer end of the said bracket member is secured to a push-bar 21, which extends up through aof the plat suitable guide 22, secured to a sil form and through an elongated slot 23, made in the platform, which slot is preferably provided with a border-plate 2 1. The ush-bar is adapted to be operated by the oot of a trainman and terminates at its upper end in a knob 25, and while the upper end of the push-bar is perpendicular its body portion is given the same inclination or slant as the slant of the fixed steps and of the carrier D. The push-bar is provided with one or more notches 26 in its rear edge, adapted for looking engagement with one edge of the plate 24 or a wall of the slot 23 when the push-bar is forced downward to bring the extension-step to its lower position, from which position the extension-step is returned when the pushbar is released by means of a spring 27, attached to the upper end of the said arm 16 and to the platform, as is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. It will be understood that the guide .devices 10 may be provided with frictionrollers to render easy the movements of the carrier D.

Having thus described my invention, I

IIO

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination with a car-platform and the steps fixed thereto, of a carrier mounted to slide at the side portions of the fixed step-support, an extension-step secured to the said carrier at a point below the lower: most fixed step, the extension-step being adapted to' drop down and in front of the lowermost fixed step and to be carried up along the said fixed step, a tension device for mounted for sliding and guided movement on the side supports for the fixed steps, the

said side members having heads at their upper ends limiting the downward movement of the carrier, an extension-step secured to the connecting member of the said carrier, the extension-step being located below the lowermost fixed step and adapted for move ment to and from the same, an arm extending upward at the rear of the said carrier, a

connected with the said arm and with spring tform, a push-bar connected with the the p said arm and extending up through an opening in the platform, and means for locking the push-bar in its lower position.

3. The combination with a car-platform, steps fixed thereto, said platform being provided with an opening therein adjacent to the steps, and guides secured to the outer faces of the side supports of the fixed steps, of a substantially U-shaped carrier, the side members of which are given the same inclination as the fixed steps and are mounted to slide in the guides carried by the said fixed steps, the said side members of the carrier having heads at their upper ends, the connecting member of the said carrier bein below the lowermost fixed step, an auxi iary step secured to the connecting member of the carrier, an arm extending up from the. rear portion of the carrier and having a side extension, roller-bearings for the said arm, a'

spring connecting the said arm with the plat form, and a push-barconnected with the extension from the said arm, being passed up through an opening in the platform and provided vwith locking means, the inclination of the push-bar corresponding to the inclination of the fixed steps, as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

BENJAMIN WATSON.

Witnesses:

HENRY KREISS, JAMEs P. HAssETT. 

